Infinity of Yar Blog entry No. 6
Date: Monday 20th November 2017
Position: Lat: 26.52N
Long: 17.33W
Well, dear readers, we have been at sea now for 24 hours and a lively 24 hours it has been.
Now, this is a rally not a race - like hell it is! Your crew were out on the start line an hour before the start doing timed practice runs, checking the bias on
the line, looking to see whether there was better pressure on the out mark, you know all the usual stuff. Given that the penalty for being OCS (On Course Side i.e.
over the line at the start for my non racing readers) was three hours we were not going to be early but we did want to make it good. We hit the line on the committee
boat (Spanish Warship) end about 15 seconds after the gun. That would be a poor start for a racing fleet but it was light airs and with no recalls we were playing safe
but nonetheless readers we were first over the line carrying the flag for The Royal Solent Yacht Club. First that is except for the boat who was over the line at the
outer distance mark and was duly informed over the VHF that they were carrying a three hour penalty.
All silly stuff with 2,800 miles still to go but it had to be done.
Things went less well for the next couple of hours in very light winds. We tried to set our gennaker but it just wont fly in less than eight knots and we had to take
it down again. All that messing about lost us a lot of ground. Later the wind built and we set the geneker and took off with a purpose at last. Those who have sailed
in these wates will know about the accelaration zone south of Gran Canaria where the wind picks up speed due to catabatic winds coming over the island. As the sea and
wind built to 20 knots we spectacularly broached and took the gennaker down; luckily no damage was done - unlike one or two others suffering the same fate.
Night fell with the wind building until your author found himself on watch at midnight with 28 knots of true wind and three reefs in the mainsail -
exciting stuff for our first night!
We are heading south trying to thread our way through between a low pressure system to the west with 30 knots on the nose and a high pressure system towards Africa with
no wind at all.
Mid afternoon, without warning, shock horror Kipper Kearns caught a fish. We all jump up in excitement and Kipper starts reeling in the lovely
Mahi Mahi fish. Out comes the gaff and as Kipper hauls it up the the stern of the boat.... it flicks in the air and drops straight back int
ethe " big blue wobbly stuff " to quote from Muppet Treasure Island and gets away.
Now, readers I can read your minds from mid Atlantic - he DID catch a fish and there are pictures to prove it!
We have covered about 165 miles in the first 24 hours so not bad for day one.
So, thank you, dear readers, for your tenacity in joining us thus far and until next time:
" To Infinity & Beyond "